Principles of Evidence in International Criminal Justice

Clear and comprehensive overview of the jurisprudence on evidentiary issues developed by the international and hybrid tribunals and the International Criminal Court
Provides an understanding of the rationale behind the adoptation of a practice or principle of evidence, critically analyzing the legal reasoning employed by the Tribunals
Provides an analysis of domestic legal principles relating to evidence, examining to what extent are they adequately understood by international practitioners and how they influence international criminal practice
Examines to what extent the principles developed by the ad hoc Tribunals will be adopted by the ICC
Principles of Evidence in International Criminal Justice provides an overview of the procedure and practice concerning the admission and evaluation of evidence before the international criminal tribunals. The book is both descriptive and critical and its emphasis is on day-to-day practice, drawing on the experience of the Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone Tribunals. This book is an attempt to define and explain the core principles and rules that have developed at those ad hoc Tribunals; the rationale and origin of those rules; and to assess the suitability of those rules in the particular context of the International Criminal Court which is still at its early stages. The ICC differs in structure from the ad hoc Tribunals and approaches the legal issues it has to resolve differently from its predecessors. The ICC is however confronted with many of the same questions. The book examines the differences between the ad hoc Tribunals and the ICC and seeks to offer insights as to how and in which circumstances the principles established over years of practice at the ICTY, ICTR and SCSL may serve as guidance to the ICC practitioners of today and the future.

The contributors represent a cross-section of the practising international criminal bar, drawn from the ranks of the Bench, the Prosecution and the Defence and bringing with them different legal domestic cultures. Their mixed background underlines the recurring theme in this book which is the manner in which a legal culture has gradually taken shape in the international Tribunals, drawing on the various traditions and experiences of its participants.

Readership: Scholars and students of international criminal justice; practitioners and legal officers in international criminal tribunals.